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Illinois Economy Showing Signs Of Improvement

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Kelsey Gibbs

The Illinois economy continues to improve. This is according to the University of Illinois Flash Index, which comes in this month at 105.9, up from 105.8 a month ago. Readings over 100 indicate economic growth, and the higher numbers indicate a higher rate of acceleration.

But economist Fred Giertz, who compiles the index, says the growth isn’t enough to add up to more employment.

“(Worker) productivity is increasing in the economy, and therefore firms don’t need more workers unless they have a much stronger demand, so if you’re getting 2 percent more efficient every year, and the economy is growing at 2 percent in terms of more goods and services, you don’t really need to hire any more workers to produce that,” he said.

The recession has been over for four years, and Giertz says the recovery has been, and continues to be, slow.